Wheel-lock.



F. E. WINCHESTER.

WHEEL LOCK.

APPLICAUON FILED DEC. 20. 1913.

1,156,197. Patented Oct. 12, 1915.

fizaiw AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA c.

WHEEL-Lock.

Specification of Letters I Patent.

Patented Oct. 1915.

Ap licationfiie'a neaiter 2o, 191a serial-No; 807,942.

To all whom it may concern: V

Be it known that I, FRED E. irol-insulin, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Manderson, in the county of Bighorn and State ofVVyon'iing, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WheelLocks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same Thisinvention relates to certain novel and useful improvements in a deviceadapted to be applied to a vehicle wheel for the purpose" of holdingsaid wheel against rotation when the vehicle is descending a steepgrade, and thereby prevent such vehicle running away down the incline.

In carrying out my invention, it is my purpose to provide a device whichmay be readily and quickly attached to the wheel of the vehicle in suchmanner that when the vehicle is descending the grade it will be heldelevated slightly above the ground, and will not rotate, while thedevice itself, upon which the wheel will rest, will be dragged along theground. Thus this device will act as a drag block or wheel lock, andwill impede the travel of the vehicle to such an extent that it will notrun forward upon the draft animal, or run away down the grade.

Still a further object of my invention is the provision of a device ofthis character which is composed of but relatively few parts, and theseof such simple construction that they may be readily assembled anddisassembled in applying and removing the device from the wheel.

I also aim to provide a device which will embody the desired features ofsimplicity, efficiency and reliability, and which may be manufacturedand marketed at a relatively low cost.

With the above recited objects and others of a similar nature in view,my invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangementof parts set forth in and falling within the scope of the appendedclaim.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a view in ide elevation of aportion of a vehicle wheel, and showing my invention applied thereto.Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a device embodying my invention.

I Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the letter Adesignates so much of a vehicle wheel as is necessary to anunderstanding of the invention, the wheel being presumed to bedescending a hill or grade B, as shown in Fig. 1.

My improved wheel lock or drag, as is shown in Fig. 2, comprises aU-sh'aped member 1 which is formed of suitable metal, and which iseither square or rectangular in cross section, that is to' say, the arms2'2 and the cross bar 3 are formed with flat faces. The free ends of thearms 22 are perforated or bored transversely for the passage of thecoupling pin- 45 which is formed at one end with a head 5 and at theopposite end is bored for the passage of the cotter pin 6 which retainsthe coupling pin 4 in place.

The numeral 7 designates a relatively long U-shaped member preferablyformed of round bar iron, and having a rounded or approximatelysemi-circular bight portion 8. The arms 99 of this member 7 are arrangedin parallelism and terminate at their free ends in the circularenlargements 10 which are bored for the passage of the coupling pin 4. Acoupling ring 11 is carried by the bight of the member 7, and to thiscoupling ring may be connected in any suitable manner the 1 terminallink 12 of a chain, the other end of which chain is connected to anypart of the wagon body, or running gear.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the construction and manner of employing my invention will bereadily apparent.

l/Vhen the device is to be applied, the member 1 is disconnected fromthe member 7 by withdrawing the coupling pin 4, and such member 1 isslipped on the felly of the wheel in a manner to stand the same as isshown in Fig. 1, so that the tire of the wheel will rest upon and bearagainst the top edge of the cross bar 3 of this member 1. The member 7is then applied in a manner to span the wheel felly as shown in Fig. 1,and the coupling pin is used to connect the two members 1 and 7, and isheld in place by the cotter pin 6. As the coupling pin 4 will extendacross the inner periphery of the felly between two spokes, the devicewill be fast with the wheel. The drag chain is now connected, and as aforward pull takes place on the chain with the travel of the vehicle themember 7 will be pulled upward and forward against the wheel, while themember 1 will extend at a rearward inclination to the Wheel and act as adrag scraping along the ground as the vehicle travels. The Wheel, ofcourse, resting as it does on the bar 3, cannot revolve, While at thesame time the Wheel and consequently the vehicle is held against lateralor side-Wise movement or skidding, by the arms 2-2 of the member 1, andthe arms 99 of the member 7. To disconnect the device it is onlynecessary to remove the coupling pin when such device will fall from theWheel.

it Will be noted that I have provided an exceedingly simple, yetefiicient device for preventing a Wagon running away down a grade,especially such steep grades as are found in mountainous countries, andtherefore, this device will be found exceedingly useful in avoidinginjury or damage to the Wagon, and accidents to the driver or occupants.

What I claim is:

A device of the class described, the combination of a U-shaped memberadapted to span a Wheel felly, and upon the cross bar of which memberthe Wheel is adapted to rest, a second U-shaped member spanning theWheel felly forward of the first mentioned member, a removable couplingpin for detachably connecting the adjacent ends of the arms of themembers, said pin being adapted to bear against the inner periphery ofthe Wheel felly, and means for attaching a draft member to the secondU-shaped member.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature, in presence of tWoWitnesses.

FltED E. WINCHESTER.

Witnesses R. B. (JAVANAGH, FRANK S. RATGLIFFE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

